Tarte tatin recipe

Tarte Tatin recipe

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About this recipe

In this blog post I will guide you thru the steps and ingredients needed to craft this recipe. Grab your favorite apron and let's start.
The Tarte Tatin is a classic French dessert that originated in the 19th century. This caramelized upside-down apple tart is known for its rich flavors and beautiful presentation. The recipe involves cooking apples in caramel until they become soft and golden, then topping them with a buttery pastry crust before baking. The end result is a deliciously sweet and sticky dessert that is perfect for any occasion.

Keywords: Tarte Tatin, French dessert, caramelized, apple tart, buttery pastry

Tarte tatin recipe details

Tarte tatin recipe, recipe Rating: 4.5
Number of votes:97 

Ingredients

	For the pastry:
475 g	plain flour
6 medium	eggs, beaten
350 g	unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3 tbsp	granulated sugar
¼ tsp	salt
	For the Filling:
700 g	firm apples, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith
	lemon juice
150 g	granulated sugar
85 g	unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

To make the pastry:
Mix together the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Rub in the flour with fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and pour in the eggs. Start to bring the flour into the eggs to form a dough and use a spatula to assist. Once the dough is formed, form into a ball, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 seconds. Reshape to a ball, roll out to a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To prepare the filling:
Peel and core the apples. Halve them and cut each half into 3 equal wedges. Place in a bowl and toss them in a little lemon juice.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C, 400°F.

Heat a frying pan or saucepan and dissolve the sugar into 3 tbsp water on a very small light. When dissolved, raise the heat slightly and do not stir. Tilt the pan slightly from time to time until the sugar become honey coloured. Add the butter and stir until it melts. Remove from heat and pour the caramel into a buttered pie dish.

Arrange the apples in circular patterns, overlapping as much as necessary, over the whole of the base of the pie dish. You need to be quite quick as the caramel will harden. You can do it in advance of making the caramel.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap. Divide into 3 equal portions. Wrap two in cling film and then in foil and freeze until required. Form the third into a ball and then roll out to a circle a little larger than your pie dish. Return to the refrigerator until required.

When the apples are cooked, remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 15-20 minutes. When comfortably cooled, place the crust on top and tuck the excess pastry underneath, as neatly as possible. Return the tatin to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Run a knife around the edge of the dish to loosen it and place a serving dish on top. Invert the two together and shake the dish to release the contents.

Serve warm in wedges with creme fraiche, the traditional way, or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, to the side.

About this recipe:
Named after the Tatin sisters who reputedly made a tart for some guests, but dropped it on removal from the oven. It fell crust down, which was damaged beyond repair, so they inverted it to hide the damage.

The pastry recipe is sufficient for 3 tarts. However the pastry may be made in advance and the surplus wrapped in cling film and foil and frozen for up to 3 months. If thawed overnight in the fridge, it will then be perfect for use. The pastry is also excellent for any sweet pie, as well as the tatin.

Variations:

Pear Tarte Tatin:
Replace apples with firm pears and prepare and bake exactly as for apples. Alternatively, use 100g of clear honey to replace the sugar.

Banana Tarte Tatin:
Use 6 large bananas instead of apples. Slice the bananas. Make the caramel as before and arrange the bananas in the caramel as before. Chill the rolled dough for 30 minutes before placing over UNCOOKED bananas and bake at Gas Mark 4, 180°C, 350°F for 30 minutes or until crust is browned.

Pineapple Tarte Tatin:
Peel, core and slice 1-2 pineapples and cut the slices in half so that they interlock when arrange on the caramel. Bake for 20 minutes at Gas Mark 5, 190°C, 375°F. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes and place the pastry on top as before. Return to oven and bake for another 30 minutes or until the pastry is browned.

Quince Tarte Tatin:
Quince, closely related to both apples and pears, are rarely sold commercially as they cannot be eaten until very ripe or cooked when slightly under-ripe. However, I have eaten a quince tarte tatin in France and it was delicious and uniquely aromatic. You may be lucky to have a neighbour or friend with a tree and a tarte made with the fruit would be repayment for a supply. Prepare as for apples and pears, but be aware that quinces are quite hard and tough unless very ripe.

Preparation time:
ca. 1 hr
Resting time:
ca. 1 hr
Grade of difficulty:
medium
Calories per portion:
n/a